The first trailer for Sony’s non-MCU Marvel movie, Venom: The Last Dance, is finally here, and a popular theory explains why Eddie and Venom should be terrified of the project’s grotesque villain. While Venom: Let There Be Carnage was upfront about who the film’s antagonist would be, the next Venom project in the growing Sony Spider-Man Universe is keeping more of its story under wraps. While it’s been made clear that this will be the final Venom movie in this shared universe, rumors have run rampant around details following Venom: The Last Dance‘s exciting debut trailer.

While there are lots of questions about how Eddie’s brief time in the MCU will affect him or if the Sony Spider-Man Universe will ever actually get a Spider-Man, attention has been rightfully drawn to what exactly the hideous monster is seen battling Venom in the trailer. While nothing is certain at this point, it doesn’t seem to be another symbiote. However, even symbiotes have something to be afraid of lurking in the wide cosmos of the Marvel Universe.

Venom 3’s Monstrous Villain Could Be A Xenophage

Though the Venom: The Last Dance trailer does feature a shot of several un-bonded symbiotes in a lab, the many-legged and sharp-toothed monster that debuts in the back half of the footage doesn’t seem to resemble other symbiotes that have been seen, like Venom, Riot (the first movie’s villain), or Carnage. This creature is much more insect or crustacean-like in appearance, and it seems to have more of a distinct “face.” As such, the design much more closely resembles Marvel’s Xenophages, a terrifying alien race that should give Venom cause for concern.

So far, both Venom movies have featured another symbiote as the primary antagonist. While an alien beast isn’t too different, having Venom fight a Xenophage would at least avoid repeating the exact same villain setup a third time. Beyond just looking like the monster in the trailer, Xenophages make sense narratively, too. In Marvel Comics, these creatures are natural predators of symbiotes and prefer to dine on the brains of symbiote hosts. Moreover, the longer someone has been bonded with a symbiote, the tastier their brains apparently are. Given Eddie’s tenure with Venom, both could be in serious trouble.

If the Venom: The Last Dance monster is a Xenophage, it could also mean the trailer is intentionally misleading the audience with another narrative hook. Venom claims that his planet has found him before footage of the beast, implying the creatures of Klyntar are hunting him. However, given that Xenophages prey on symbiotes, it’s actually possible that his planet is reaching out with a warning or a request for help instead of trying to kill Venom.

Xenophages Make Way More Sense Than The Other Leading Venom 3 Theory

The Venom: The Last Dance trailer does set precedence for symbiotes bonding with non-human beings, so it is possible that the beast is a symbiote bonded with an alien of some sort. However, the other leading theory is that the creature may be the SSU’s version of Grendel. Grendel is a millennia-old dragon-like symbiote closely tied to the symbiote god, Knull. Hardy did mention 2 years ago wanting to get Grendel into Venom: The Last Dance, but it just doesn’t quite add up. They don’t look terribly similar visually, but it’s more that Grendel would likely signal a story Venom 3 doesn’t seem positioned to tell.

Grendel, in and of itself, is a visually interesting and powerful villain, but the creature is most interesting as a harbinger of Knull. Knull, a cosmic force older than the universe who created the symbiotes, would be an interesting antagonist for a movie, but he would absolutely need a full story all to himself. Given Venom: The Last Dance‘s trailer doesn’t feature or mention Knull at all, his inclusion seems unlikely – perhaps outside a passing Easter egg.

How Xenophages Could Fit Into Venom 3’s Story

If a Xenophage is indeed what’s hunting Venom/Eddie, it seems to set up two major storyline possibilities for the duo. The first, as implied in the trailer, is that Klyntar has indeed found Venom and is out for blood. If so, Venom: The Last Dance could be setting up a four-way third-act brawl between Eddie/Venom and their allies, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple’s undisclosed characters, the symbiotes of Klyntar, and the Xenophage. There’s a lot going on there, but it could be an exiting possibility if the third Venom movie wants to up the stakes and deliver its biggest climactic battle yet.

The other possibility, as mentioned above, is that audiences will be treated to a symbiote vs Xenophage fight with Venom finally having others of his kind on his side. It’s possible Klyntar is sending help instead of antagonistic symbiotes to make a final stand against their predators, and it’s possible that the mysterious lab-contained symbiotes join, too. Moreover, Detective Mulligan was teased to finally become Toxin at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, so he could de a powerful ally for Venom and Eddie.

Whatever happens, anticipation is high for finding out what exactly Venom: The Last Dance will pit its titular heroes up against. There are plenty of other mysteries put forward by the trailer, like whether Rhys Ifans is playing Curt Connors and how the movie seemingly contains a scene set in the MCU, but those may not become clear until the movie releases. Whatever happens, this is Hardy’s last movie as Venom, so here’s to hoping that Venom: The Last Dance can deliver a story befitting this unique take on Spider-Man lore.